Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 13 September 2010 - 06:38 AM

I know many think that Twitter is nothing more than people posting about what they had for lunch, but though there are a few of those tweets, Twitter really is so much more. It can be an amazing tool for networking with other writers, finding useful posts and sites, and an easy way to build a following. Not to mention, many agents use twitter to give writers updates on how far along they are with their query slush pile, or if they're looking for a particular type of story.

Intimidated? Not sure where to start? Debbie Ridpath Ohi (known as @inkyelbows on Twitter) has put together an amazing guide to Twitter for writer's. A great place to start if you're not sure what to do with an RT, an @, or a hashtag.

Publishing Experience:My debut novel, "The Sister Queens," (March 2012/NAL), was set in 13th century France and England and wove the captivating story of sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence, who both became queens. My next solo novel, "Medicis Daughter," (Dec 1 2015/Thomas Dunne) traveled forward three-hundred years to the intrigue-riven French Valois court, spinning the tale of beautiful princess Marguerite who walks the knife edge between the demands of her serpentine mother, Catherine de Medicis, and those of her own conscience.

In between I became a "hybrid" as part of a group of six authors involved in a high concept novel-in-six-parts called "A Day of Fire" which released in November of 2014. The book, "A Day of Fire," tells the story of the final days of the doomed city of Pompeii in a way you've never read it before.

Posted 13 September 2010 - 09:02 AM

Let me just say, I am by NO MEANS a savvy tech and social media person but TWITTER IS THE BEST! There is a vibrant publishing community there and I have networked with lots of writers both here and in the UK. If you are not on twitter -- get there. If you are on twitter I am @lit_gal Oh, and I find using a different application (rather than Twitter itself) a much easier way to track the things on Twitter that interest me (I use Tweetdeck but their are others).

Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 13 September 2010 - 11:01 AM

I also like tweetdeck. Makes it much easier to track different writerly hashtags and keep track of everything that's happening.

I also like tweetdeck. Makes it much easier to track different writerly hashtags and keep track of everything that's happening.

I love this group. I know nothing about Twitter. Maybe I can get smarter.

“There’s no such thing as tough. There’s trained, and there’s untrained. Now which one are you?”The Year-god's Daughter, book one in The Child of the Erinyes Series, will be published in November, 2011

I use TweetDeck as well - so much easier to keep track of things. Some hashtags writers might find useful are #askagent, #queries and #queryfest.

None of these have regular times like the chats you'll find in @inkyelbows fabulous guide - they happen when the agents and interns find time. In #askagent agents & other publishing folks will answer questions about pretty much anything except queries and trends. In the other 2, interns comment in general on the queries they are seeing - nothing specific that would identify the query or the querier, but hints on what agents are looking for at the time and mistakes lots of people are making. Interesting information.

Publishing Experience:My debut novel, "The Sister Queens," (March 2012/NAL), was set in 13th century France and England and wove the captivating story of sisters, Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence, who both became queens. My next solo novel, "Medicis Daughter," (Dec 1 2015/Thomas Dunne) traveled forward three-hundred years to the intrigue-riven French Valois court, spinning the tale of beautiful princess Marguerite who walks the knife edge between the demands of her serpentine mother, Catherine de Medicis, and those of her own conscience.

In between I became a "hybrid" as part of a group of six authors involved in a high concept novel-in-six-parts called "A Day of Fire" which released in November of 2014. The book, "A Day of Fire," tells the story of the final days of the doomed city of Pompeii in a way you've never read it before.

Posted 13 September 2010 - 07:41 PM

#amwriting is a nice way to keep track of who is on-line and currently writing or editing and #histfict works for those who like historical ficiton

Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 14 September 2010 - 05:51 AM

I find the best way to balance twitter is with a bit of conversation with followers, plenty of useful links and retweets of useful links, and then announcing my blog post once (on rare occassions, twice) with a tweet. I do throw in the occassional #amwriting tweet since you can give an enticing like tidbit (without giving too much of your story away) and it perks up people's interest in your writing (you know... in the off chance any of us ever manage to get published. lol.).

Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Publishing Experience:I have several short stories published with online magazines such as Bewildering Stories and Aphelion, and part of the 7DS anthology SLAYERS. I have six books in a paranormal series self-published, and as of 2015, I write articles for Gaiam TV. See my blog for more details.

Posted 25 February 2011 - 08:20 AM

I use Tweetdeck too. Makes it so much easier to watch/read stuff.

~I am neither an author nor a writer; I am a storyteller with good grammar.~

Publishing Experience:My debut novel, SEVEN WAYS WE LIE, was released in March 2016 by Abrams and optioned for film by Jane Startz Productions. My sophomore novel, NOTEWORTHY, hits shelves May 2017.

Posted 18 April 2011 - 08:58 PM

tweetdeck.com - it's good stuff. Has a live updater, etc. - for when those #askagent chats get hectic! Puts everything nicely in one place. It's incredibly easy to use, clean, fast download, free. You can get it for browsers or desktop... phone, too, I think.

Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 18 April 2011 - 09:29 PM

Clipper, tweetdeck is amazing. It actually takes twitter and makes sense of it. : ) Super easy to keep ongoing searches going, to RT, to use hashtags, to tweet to multiple people at once, etc. Love it!! Couldn't tweet without it.

Publishing Experience:I have several short stories published with online magazines such as Bewildering Stories and Aphelion, and part of the 7DS anthology SLAYERS. I have six books in a paranormal series self-published, and as of 2015, I write articles for Gaiam TV. See my blog for more details.

Posted 19 April 2011 - 07:31 AM

*pats her tweetdeck* I agree with Cali, I just wish I knew how to make the font bigger.

~I am neither an author nor a writer; I am a storyteller with good grammar.~

Publishing Experience:Journalist covering U.S. nonprofits, foundations, and life in general. President and Chief Elephant Officer of Elephant's Bookshelf Press, LLC. Since establishing the company in 2012, we have published ten books, including short stories by several AQC writers and debut novels by AQC authors A.T. O'Connor (aka Cat Woods), "ScubaSteve" Carman, and R.S. Mellette. Heading into 2016, we're aiming to publish at least two books, including the second Mellette novel and an anthology. In 2015, I saw a few memoir/nonfiction pieces published in Red Fez. I expect to do more of that in 2016 and beyond, while also looking to add freelance editing and writing clients.

Posted 19 April 2011 - 07:47 AM

There can be quirks to Tweetdeck. I recently learned that it doens't log every tweet you or your followers make. I'm not sure why that is. But it means you can miss something. That said, I like it and use it.

Publishing Experience:I'm a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author writing under the pen name, Cali MacKay and write fun and steamy contemporary romances, in addition to erotica, paranormal romances and mysteries. I also write steampunk romances under the pen name Calista Taylor.

Posted 19 April 2011 - 07:53 AM

That's very true, Matt! I actually have my mentions column, and then I also have a column with my name, so that way there's less chance I'll miss someone mentioning me (don't want them to think I'm ignoring them!), and even then I still miss the occassional mention. But I've noticed Twitter has similar issues so I'm not sure who's to blame.

Publishing Experience:I write science-fantasy, YA, and historical fiction. I've published non-fiction in magazines and my first novel was released in Sept. 2014.

Posted 20 April 2011 - 12:02 PM

I find the best way to balance twitter is with a bit of conversation with followers, plenty of useful links and retweets of useful links, and then announcing my blog post once (on rare occassions, twice) with a tweet. I do throw in the occassional #amwriting tweet since you can give an enticing like tidbit (without giving too much of your story away) and it perks up people's interest in your writing (you know... in the off chance any of us ever manage to get published. lol.).

I've been browsing around getting a feel for Twitter and reading tweets, even pulling up random subjects just to see what people are saying. A lot of the advice given here and elsewhere says not to post tons of links in tweets but to have something to say. Maybe it's the time of year I joined but it looks like that's pretty much what's on twitter, a lot of links to other places. I can google info if I want it that way. Where are the conversations? Or is it a dry spell right now? Anyone know of some active subjects/hashtags going on right now? I want to study the art of conversational tweeting.